Two Premier League games which ended in draws, instead of decisive results, which will probably alter the destination of millions of pounds in prize money at the end of the season.

It's not putting it too strongly to suggest English football is facing a refereeing crisis. Too many officials are being panicked into making crass decisions late in the game, usually against so-called lesser teams, and the fans are being fleeced.

Of course, without a referee there can be no match, and it is not this column's intention to instigate a witch-hunt.

Nor should we overlook the enduring handicap for every whistleblower: Without TV replays, they only get one look at every incident.

But it is time for referees to wake up and spot the difference between defenders who concede penalties by committing mistakes or grievous errors of judgement and desperate attackers who 'win' penalties by falling over to con officials.

Enough is enough. If you support the Baggies or the Swans, you will have spent the weekend feeling sick to the pit of your stomach about the glory which was snatched away when your players did nothing wrong.

(Photo: Action Images)

West Brom were seconds away from inflicting Jose Mourinho's first home defeat in the Premier League as Chelsea manager when Ramires hit the deck and ref Andre Marriner, who had been bold enough to send off two Sunderland players in four minutes the previous weekend, swallowed it.

Albion defender Steven Reid, the fall guy punished by Marriner's howler, did nothing wrong. Any contact was negligible, and Reid did not commit any offence.

With such outrageous fortune on his side, no wonder the blessed Jose has never lost a Premier League game at Stamford Bridge. But Marriner's decision, desperately late in the day, still stinks like a cowshed - not that he is permitted to explain what he saw or why he fell for Ramires' calculated tumble.

Come on, ref - think about it. Chelsea, filthy rich, losing 2-1 at home in stoppage time against Midlands fodder, not supposed to happen. When Ramires goes down under innocuous escort, the FIRST question you ask should be: "Is he trying it on?"

Of course he is. It's so late in the game Chelsea will try anything to scramble a point.

Now for Robert Madley, who took charge of only his third game in the top flight at the Liberty Stadium on Sunday. He will not be welcome back any time soon.

Swansea had overturned a 2-0 deficit and led 3-2 deep into stoppage time when Madley wrongly awarded a free-kick for handball against Angel Rangel when the ball clearly hit his chest.

No sooner had the Swans survived the ensuing set piece than Madley gave a penalty - God knows what it was for - and Charlie Adam rescued a point for Stoke with the last kick of the game.

Again, Madley is not allowed to explain his decision, so we will have to perform an autopsy without the pathologist.

Did Madley see an infringement, or did he THINK he saw one? Probability and guesswork are inadequate sciences when Premier League points are at stake, but apart from Stoke keeper Asmir Begovic - who had ventured forward for the Potters' final assault - nobody appealed... because there was nothing to appeal for.

Once again, we must ask: Why was the ref looking for things which simply didn't happen?

Of course, there have been other unwelcome interventions from referees late in the game recently, notably Michael Oliver's atrocious handball decision which robbed Hull of a point at Tottenham - although Tigers boss Steve Bruce will still be lighter in the pocket for daring to say what everyone else thought about it.

(Photo: Stu Forster)

Referees and their assistants are now subject to stringent medicals to determine their physical fitness, and their governing body proudly boasts they get around 95 per cent of all decisions correct.

But how does their eyesight, and mental agility, hold up in the last 10 minutes of a game? The anecdotal evidence suggests referees are struggling to remain switched-on.

Marriner, Madley and Oliver all blundered towards the end of their shifts, when they would have been as tired as an athlete completing a half-marathon, and it would be human nature if their concentration was compromised by fatigue.

It is even more important, however, to get decisions right in the 95th minute than the first because aggrieved teams have no time to repair any damage.

Fans who pay big money to follow their teams deserve better. One West Brom fan rang 606 to say his son was so disgusted by the Ramires penalty decision he has turned his back on the Premier League because honest teams are being cheated, and if that doesn't ring any alarm bells, there is nobody at home in the belfry.

We have had enough of referees who are 'brave' enough to make 'big' calls late in the game. Penalties are conceded by defenders, NOT 'won' by desperate attackers, right?